"Catch the Young and Rich" Hyundai Department Store Establishes Industry's First 2030 VIP Membership

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[Asia Economy Reporter Cha Min-young] Hyundai Department Store is introducing the first-ever VIP membership program exclusively for the 2030 generation in the department store industry. The strategy is to create a dedicated membership targeting the so-called 'Young and Rich'?young affluent consumers who are currently leading consumption trends in the retail industry?and provide pinpoint care.

Hyundai Department Store announced on the 8th that it will operate the VIP membership program 'Club YP' exclusively for customers aged 30 and under starting February next year. Club YP is a combination of the first letter of 'Young,' representing youth, and the last letter of 'VIP,' representing excellent customers.

Club YP members will be selected from customers born in 1983 or later (39 years old in Korean age) who spent more than 20 million KRW with a Hyundai Department Store card in the previous year, with final selection made through an internal review around January next year. Even without purchase records, influencers, celebrities, outstanding donors, and volunteers who lead social value realization will also be selected as Club YP members after internal screening. Influencers must have more than 100,000 YouTube subscribers or over 30,000 Instagram followers.

Club YP offers differentiated services in addition to the existing VIP membership benefits. Valet parking service will be provided on weekdays at 13 stores nationwide, excluding Apgujeong Main Store and Trade Center Store, and 12 valet parking coupons usable on weekends or holidays will be given. Previously, valet parking service was only available to Club Jasmine members. Hyundai Department Store points are earned at a rate of 1 point per 1,000 KRW spent using the Hyundai Department Store card. Additionally, upon selection, members will receive a dining voucher worth 50,000 KRW and free wine corkage service at Hyundai Department Store restaurants.

Special benefits for luxury brand purchases are also provided. When purchasing luxury goods with the Hyundai Department Store card, members can use a 6-month interest-free installment service 12 times a year, and the 'H Point' integrated membership point accumulation rate for luxury goods will be doubled to 0.2%. Furthermore, in July next year, exclusive lounges will open at Hyundai Department Store's Pangyo and Yeouido stores (tentative names), where events will be planned and operated.

Hyundai Department Store decided to introduce a VIP membership for the 2030 generation because their purchasing power continues to grow. In fact, the proportion of customers aged 30 and under among all Hyundai Department Store VIPs was about 15% in 2017 but reached 21% this year. The share of customers in their 20s and 30s in Hyundai Department Store's luxury sales was 4.8% and 17.4%, respectively, in 2017, but increased to 7.8% and 21.4%, respectively, from January to November this year.

Yang Myung-sung, Executive Director of Sales Strategy at Hyundai Department Store, said, "We judged that the existing VIP membership program could not satisfy the increasing needs of 2030 VIP customers, so we decided to introduce an exclusive membership program. We plan to develop Club YP as a representative membership for the domestic Young and Rich."

Meanwhile, Hyundai Department Store will also make some changes to the existing VIP program. The 'Platinum' tier (20,000 to less than 40,000 Hyundai Department Store points) will be renamed 'Sage' starting next year, and in addition to existing benefits such as exclusive lounge access and a permanent 5% discount on regular products, members will receive additional benefits like regular delivery of rice and fruit and vouchers for hot places.

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